The Town of Huntsville planning department has released its first draft Community Planning Permit (CPP) bylaw for review.
The bylaw establishes a new way to get planning approvals, which staff and consultants say will streamline the process. It has been compiled by planning staff, community input, and a team of consultants lead by SGL Planning & Design Inc. in association with Dillon Consulting.
The planning tool combines the development approval process by addressing all zoning amendments, minor variance, and site plan agreements under one application.
“This means that the CPP By-law will provide Huntsville with the ability to regulate and manage development in a more streamlined and flexible manner, with applications being reviewed within a 45-day timeframe.
“For the community, it means faster approval timelines, less applications, and less approvals that need to be considered by Council.
“The By-law will help the Town address some of the ongoing issues related to development, such as erosion, natural heritage, tree removal and site alteration,” reads the introduction to the draft bylaw on the municipality’s community engagement site.
Under the CPP, zones are referred to as precincts. Planning staff will be given more approval authority on most files – depending on the nature of the applications, which are classed into three categories. Categories one and two can be approved by planning staff, while the third would be approved by the planning committee and council unless staff or the applicant request otherwise. Below are the three classifications and who approves what:
Planning staff have been saying for some time that the CPP would replace the need to establish regulations regarding tree removal and site alteration.
“What we can do with a CPP bylaw is different from a zoning bylaw, as the definition of ‘development’ in the Planning Act is different when it comes to a CPP, and speaks to vegetation removal and site alteration. A zoning bylaw does not afford that type of tool,” explained Kirstin Maxwell, Huntsville director of planning.
“What we have proposed in the first draft bylaw are limitations on how much site alteration and vegetation removal can occur, in specific locations (i.e. shorelines or rural lands), before a CPP permit would be required. To obtain feedback on the draft, we are in the process of scheduling an open house and public meeting, and are just working on updates to the myhuntsville.ca/cpp page,” she added.
She said more information and a presentation highlighting the CPP process and how it will function will soon be added to the Town’s engagement page.
The draft bylaw will be modified to reflect input from stakeholders and a series of public consultation sessions are expected to take place before a final bylaw is compiled and finally approved by council. You can find the draft bylaw here (pdf).
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Ray Vowels, can you explain to me:
-why do you need to clear cut to build here?
-why must a town grow or die?
I’m not saying water front lot’s should be clear cut but we keep saying there is a housing shortage around All of Ont really. So if we do not clear land or subdivide old farm land there is no place left to build homes. I hear people complaining about all the trees being cut but you have to almost clear cut to build on most lots. Without growing a town will just die so it’s amounts to do we grow or do we just try and stay the same size and that is almost impossible to do.
About time. Some water lots are just clear cut and paved over. We are killing our world… and the world is finally fighting back. We are in a climate crisis, and so much more needs to be done – and reported on too.